Thanks, I updated the article. Working on Part II now.
I totally agree. The techniques that have worked well so far are quite far from understanding cells, organs, organisms, or ecosystems. However, the incredible rate of progress at the small molecule to protein complex scale is already showing a strong impact, at least on getting a much better funnel before we begin in vivo testing.
[12/29/23 edited to correct math error]
I'm a biology PhD, and have been working in tech for a number of years. I want to show why I believe that biological research is the most near term, high value application of machine learning. This has profound implications for human health, industrial development, and the fate of the world.
In this article I explain the current discoveries that machine learning has enabled in biology. In the next article I will consider what this implies will happen in the near term without major improvements in AI, along with my speculations about how our expectations that underlie our regulatory and business norms will fail. Finally, my last article... (read 600 more words →)
I'm very surprised that there is no mention of a low-dose aspirin regime here. Low dose aspirin can greatly reduce chances of stroke, heart attack, and cancer. The main caveat is that there is increased chance of bleeding or stomach ulcer, the latter of which can be avoided by taking with food.
We make it up as we go along :)
Basically my wife and I ask ourselves "What is the next thing to learn, or what do the kids need to review?" Our very broad curriculum for math is operations in order, from addition to exponents and logarithms, with learning and graphing functions that use that operation at the same time. So, when they learn addition they learn linear functions and line graphing, curves when they learn exponents, etc. Then fractions and decimals, because you need to understand fractions to understand the unit circle, which is the basis for angles and therefore geometry and trig. Reading is easiest: make them read and discuss... (read more)
Do what Harry's dad in HPMOR does: hire local grad students to be homeschool tutors. I do this for my 6 year old and 9 year old, and it is awesome. We parents do very high-level curriculum, taking about half an hour each week, and the tutors and kids do the rest. Teach at the kids' pace, choose material and progressions that make sense to you (or make sense to him), and have constant contact with teachers. I've found $20/hour is an attractive wage for most PhD students, and their expertise means that the barrage of "why?" questions the kids ask can actually be answered, often with current research findings. We've found we can cover 2 to 4 times the material in public school curriculum, and school is from 9 to 2. Also, you can do reasonable things like teach radians before degrees, graphing and functions along with each operation, foreign languages with native speakers, and Greek and Roman roots starting in kindergarten.
Hi there, I'm a Biologist turned Software Engineer, age 34. I came to Less Wrong through Overcoming Bias and HPMOR, and I'm still here because the notions of rationality appeal to me. It is nice to among others who hold rationality as an ideal to aspire to.
Indeed, there is a huge potential for dangerous applications with current technology. It is easier to design a molecule to poison a system than to heal a system.